5,515 research outputs found
Spin Hamilton Operators, Symmetry Breaking, Energy Level Crossing and Entanglement
We study finite-dimensional product Hilbert spaces, coupled spin systems,
entanglement and energy level crossing. The Hamilton operators are based on the
Pauli group. We show that swapping the interacting term can lead from
unentangled eigenstates to entangled eigenstates and from an energy spectrum
with energy level crossing to avoided energy level crossing
Housing Prices, Bank Lending, and Monetary Policy
In order to gain more insight into the relationship between housing prices and mortgage lending, we estimate models for both the Dutch housing and the mortgage market. The empirical analysis presented in this paper offers support for the hypothesis that in the Netherlands housing prices and mortgage lending are interdependent. According to our model, housing prices were influenced by changes in bank lending criteria during the estimation period, even when we control for variables such as disposable household income, mortgage interest rate, demographic developments and the housing stock. Mortgage lending was found to be dependent on housing prices as well as disposable income. Our analysis further suggests that in the short run housing prices can deviate substantially from their long-run equilibrium value.housing prices, mortgage market, monetary policy
The National Bank of Belgium, Research Departmentâs new business survey indicator
The business survey indicator is one of the most valuable statistics that the Bank publishes every month. Its reputation is due to the reliability it has demonstrated over several decades in reflecting the pattern of economic activity in the country and in the euro area every month. The indicator is compiled on the basis of the responses to the monthly business survey that the Bank has arranged with enterprises in Belgium since 1954. Almost twenty years after the last methodological revision of the indicator in 1990, the Bank decided that it was now desirable to review its method of calculation again. This article presents the key characteristics of the business survey indicator, its practical applications and the new method of calculation applied since April 2009. This methodological revision gradually became necessary owing to the extension of the survey in 1994 to business-related services, the results of which were not included in the general business survey indicator until this methodological change. The old business survey indicator had also exhibited some undesirable short-term fluctuations. The methodological changes have been kept to a minimum and only concern the calculation of the synthetic curves, with an amended selection of questions that are included in the synthetic curves for each industry and by incorporating the business-related services curve into the overall synthetic business indicator. These changes aim to strengthen the correlation between the indicator and GDP growth, to reduce the undesirable short-term volatility and to maintain its early response.business cycle, business survey, leading indicator, correlation, GDP
About memory in fashion: a study of the work of Clive Rundle
M.A. University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities (Arts), 2012In
this
research
project
I
propose
to
investigate
the
notion
of
memory
and
its
trace
in
the
work
of
fashion
designer
Clive
Rundle
(b.
1959).
This
positioning
of
the
work
in
the
context
of
memory
offers
an
approach
to
the
reading
of
the
fashion
processes
and
products;
one
of
various
research
options
that
could
be
used
to
analyse
the
creative
approach,
the
fashioned
objects
and
the
complex
displays
of
Clive
Rundleâs
fashion
within
the
broader
creative
and
social
context
of
a
post-ÂâApartheid
South
Africa.
The
inquiry
for
this
research
is
concerned
with
the
palimpsest,
as
witness
to
the
past
in
the
form
of
traces,
memories
and
histories.
The
evidence
or
renegotiation
of
the
past
in
the
present
in
fashion,
which
I
will
reference
in
this
research
is
what
Walter
Benjamin
identified
as
the
âtigersprungâ,
and
which
is
surfacing
in
the
construction
of
new
contemporary
fashion
narratives
of
a
number
of
contemporary
South
African
fashion
designers,
who
together
with
other
visual
artists
are
currently
exploring
notions
of
memory
and
history
as
catalysts
for
remembrance,
social
commentary
and
healing.
By
exploring
the
role
of
memory
and
its
trace
in
Clive
Rundleâs
work,
I
hope
to
investigate
the
layers
in
the
palimpsest
that
informs
the
work.
In
this
research
I
aim
to
explore
how
Rundleâs
work
could
offer
an
opportunity
to
investigate
whether
notions
of
loss
and
mourning
can
be
expressed
through
fashion,
how
the
past
resurfaces
in
fashion,
andthis
can
help
locate
a
current understanding
of
transformation
in
a
post-Ââmodern
South
Africa.
whethe
Booming illegal abalone fishery in Hangberg: Tough lessons for small-scale fisheries governance in South Africa
Includes bibliographical referencesMarine capture fisheries around the world are widely perceived to be in a state of crisis, with growing recognition that conventional resource-centred management strategies are insufficient to counter ongoing problems of overexploitation. This is considered particularly true in the smallâscale sector, which employs the overwhelming majority of the worldâs fishers but has historically been overlooked. To manage marine resources more sustainably, new approaches to fisheries governance have been sought that recognise the complex nature of fisheries systems, paying attention to the social dimensions of fisheries management in addition to important ecological processes. In South Africa, many of these new approaches have been embraced in a recently adopted policy for the small-scale sector. Attempts to reform marine fisheries have been ongoing in the country since the end of apartheid (a system of legalised racial segregation and white supremacy that ruled for almost 50 years) but have largely failed to bring meaningful change to impoverished fishing communities. Frustration at ineffective reform has contributed to widespread non-compliance â most notably in the abalone fishery, which has collapsed in the face of rampant poaching, driven by a lucrative, illegal export market to the Far East. Although the new small-scale fisheries (SSF) policy has been hailed as a progressive shift in thinking, questions remain about how it is to be implemented. One major challenge will be dealing with illegal fishing. The purpose of this study, was to profile the human dimensions of abalone poaching in the Cape Town fishing community of Hangberg and to draw lessons for implementing the new SSF policy. A qualitative multi-method research approach, based mainly on unstructured interviews and participant observation, was used to access the clandestine fishery and investigate its historical development, current structure, scale and methods of operation and main socio-economic drivers and impacts. It was found that abalone poaching has become deeply embedded in Hangberg, having evolved into a highly organized boat-based fishery in a period of less than 15 years. At least five local poaching groups â representing some 250 individuals in total â currently used dedicated high-powered vessels to access reefs around the Cape Peninsula. Profits earned from poaching are substantial but vary, with poachers operating according to a loose hierarchy and performing a range of different tasks in the fishery. This variation notwithstanding, the illegal fishery appears to have become a mainstay of the impoverished local economy, funding poachersâ expensive lifestyles, in addition to contributing more meaningfully to the livelihoods of an estimated 1000 residents
An investigation into the health, safety and environmental management of migrant workers engaged in the construction industry in the United Kingdon (UK)
The overall purpose of this research project was to investigate the Health, Safety and Environmental Management of migrant workers engaged in the Construction Industry in the United Kingdom (UK).With the expansion of the European Union in 2004 and 2008, which allowed free movement of migrant workers from the Ascension States of Central and Eastern Europe, the construction industry of the UK saw a sudden surge in available, employable, and an affordable workforce.This paper discovered that there was a diversity of the migrant workers in their job expectation before entering the UK and most thought that they would match the qualification gained in their own country e.g. accountancy, logistics etc. A significant number of migrants ended up in construction work having had no previous experience or training, for no other reason than these were the only jobs available to them. The issues highlighted by the migrant workers, within this paper, include no information or guidance given in their own language so that they are able to understand and comply with the health, safety and environmental standards of the UK. They also had grievances with employment agencies regarding their terms and conditions.This paper also explored the attitudes and opinions of the Principal Contractors towards the migrant workforce and in the main found that they considered them hard working, reliable and flexible. The negative aspects that were highlighted by the Principal Contractors were the language barrier and their lack of health, safety and environmental awareness.Construction sites are high risk working environments and Principal Contractors have a duty of care to ensure that workers engaged on their sites are competent and safe from harm. This paper has highlighted that not only is there an awareness that migrant workers are at increased risk through the language barriers and lack of training, but this in turn also increases hazards and risks to their fellow workers on sites.This paper concludes with the recommendation that there should be a provision for clear and concise information available to the migrant workers in their own language and that training should be available in health, safety and environmental standards to increase their awareness
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